


Titan

by Timothy_Boomerang



Series: Titanverse [1]
Category: Marvel
Genre: AU, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Avengers: Endgame (Movie) Spoilers, Avengers: Infinity War Part 1 (Movie) Spoilers, Character Death, Character Development, Character Study, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fluff and Angst, Gen, Graphic Depictions of Illness, Graphic Description, Hurt/Comfort, I Made Myself Cry, I love him, I swear I love my boy, Not Avengers: Endgame (Movie) Compliant, Not Avengers: Infinity War Part 1 (Movie) Compliant, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Peter Parker Gets a Hug, Peter Parker Needs a Hug, Poor Peter Parker, Post-Avengers: Infinity War Part 1 (Movie), Precious Peter Parker, Sad Peter Parker, Starvation, What-if AU, Whump, Why Did I Write This?, it’s why I hurt him so
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-08-04
Updated: 2019-06-20
Packaged: 2019-06-22 03:06:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 3
Words: 13,143
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15572316
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Timothy_Boomerang/pseuds/Timothy_Boomerang
Summary: A ‘What If’ AU↳ Instead of Tony Stark and Nebula being left on Titan, it’s just Peter. Alone.Trying to find a way back home is hard, first surviving Titan itself and then the trek home to... to what?Who’s even left for him back on Earth?They could all be gone, just like everyone on Titan. Half the Universe’s population doesn’t mean half of Earth’s.Everyone he’s ever known could be gone when he gets back.“Don’t think that way.”Determination flows through his veins. Peter will get back. He will get home. He will survive. And he’s gonna take down Thanos and bring everyone home.Even if it’s the last thing he does.———————————————————Began 8/4/18I looked up this idea to see if others had done it and I believe I’m the first.





	1. Ashes

_"Peter. Kid. You're gonna be okay, okay?_

_You're... You're gonna be just fine."_

_Tony cupped his face, holding it and shakily brushing his unkept hair out of his eyes._

_"I'm not gonna let anything happen to you."_

_They both lost their battles against the tears._

_"I promise."_

_-_

 

  Watching people crumble away before your eyes, even those you've just met, was something Peter Parker never wanted to experience again.

  Watching someone he loved slip through his very own fingertips was something he didn't think he'd live through.

  When people started disappearing around him, his Spidey-sense merely buzzed. But it all but tore at the back of his neck seconds later, screaming at him that something horrible was going to happen.

  He thought he was going to die. So he ran to Mr. Stark. Only for the older man to look down at his feet and see the Iron Man suit begin to turn into dust.

  Tony promised. He promised Peter would be okay. And physically, yes. Peter was perfectly unharmed. Nothing had happened to him after the snap.

  But... Tony was gone. So, emotionally, Peter was a wreck. He was alone on a foreign planet, after having watched his mentor — his dad — turn into particles and fade right before his eyes.

  He reached out, catching some of his father's remains in his hands before rocking back on his heels and sitting down in the dirt, numb.

  Peter clutched what he'd caught tightly and stared at where Tony once stood, his eyes never leaving that spot as his tried to comprehend what he'd lost. Who he'd lost. 

  He'd lost the Guardians of the Galaxy, and his dad.

  Who... who was left on Earth? Did May make it? Ned? Michelle? Did any of the other Avengers? 

  He was an Avenger now... but he couldn't find it in himself to really celebrate.

  How could he even get home? Was it a good idea to stay, or to leave? Could he survive on a dead planet? How do you even fly a spaceship?

  Peter squeezed his eyes shut and let out a rough sob, breathing in gasps as he came back to himself.

  He'd forgotten how to breathe.

  Everything was overwhelming, each feeling screaming at him. Grief. Sorrow. Anguish. Rage.

  And yet, he felt nothing. Nothing but the dirt in his hand and the silence in his ears. He barely breathed, barely twitched or blinked, barely thought.

  But everything raced around him. Tony's words were on repeat in his head and he had so many questions. He was barely eighteen, he wasn't supposed to have to make any decisions as big as these yet.

  Peter tensed up, squeezing every muscles he could think of as tight as it would go before relaxing everything one by one, starting from his toes and moving towards his head.

  He sighed in relief when he finished and stood, shaking himself awake and getting up.

  "Karen? Are you still there?"

  " _Yes, Peter. Is there anything you need? Your vitals are scrambled and you seem to be in emotional distress._ " The AI responded hastily, her motherly tone coming out rather worried.

  "Mr. Stark just died." Peter stated bluntly. "I'm a little bit... shaken."

  " _I'm sorry, Peter. My creator was like a father to you. Is there anyway I can help you cope_?"

  "Can you contact any active version of F.R.I.D.A.Y. at this moment? I need to contact people on Earth."

  " _Veronica seems to be active. Would you like me to attempt contact with it's wearer_?"

  "Yea, thanks Karen."

  Peter activated his mask, praying for the call to go through. It rang for a few minutes before the muffled voice of Bruce Banner came through.

  "Who is this? Who's AI is Karen? Why is Vern's F.R.I.D.A.Y. so adamant on answering her?" Bruce grumbled, obviously struggling within the suit. 

  "This is Spider-Man, Karen is the AI Tony programmed into my suit, and Veronica's a part of F.R.I.D.A.Y. so she probably has the protocol installed where it forces Mr. Stark or whoever's in the suit to accept my calls."

  "Spider-Man? Who the hell is that?" 

  "Peter Parker." Peter said, not caring for his secret identity at the moment. "Mr. Stark's apprentice and adopted son."

  "Stark? A son? You've gotta be kidding me, no way in hell he would adopt a kid."

  "Maybe not on paper, but he called me his kid."

  "Look, kid, now is not a good time for a prank call. We're all a bit preoccupied with the War and I'm currently trapped in rock."

  "Bruce," Peter practically growled. "Tony Stark is _dead_. This is not a practical joke. We _lost_. We lost on Titan and Tony is dead. Dr. Strange, Mantis, Drax, Starlord, Nebula. _They're all dead_.

  "I am Spider-Man. You met me on Earth when those two aliens came from the spaceship and you couldn't become Hulk. That was me."

  "Tony's dead?" Bruce seemed taken aback, both by the news and the venom in the kid's tone. From what Tony's said, briefly, about the boy, was that he was always kind. And the quips he made against the aliens were lighthearted, his voice cheerful.

  This was an entirely different kid. Looking at the screen that displayed Peter's face seemed to clear up why.

  Tear tracks stained his cheeks and his eyes were red and irritated from crying. His face displayed no outward emotion and his eyes seemed cold, dead.

  "You're still on this other planet?" Bruce no longer struggled in the suit, focusing on Peter and Peter alone.

  "Well, yea. We crashed here with the alien dude’s ship after we met the Guardians of the Galaxy. We fought Thanos and lost, and now everyone's dead. I don't know how to fly a spaceship and I don't even know if there's a working one here in this wasteland. I called you as soon as I got myself together."

  "Smart thinking, kid. Do you know if any of the broken spaceships have food? It could help you survive until we have a chance to send someone to you. And if the thing isn't too badly wrecked, I might be able to help you get it airborne and heading in the right direction."

  "The evil alien's ship is wrecked and we left the Guardian's ship in space like idiots but Nebula's might be safe to fly. I have no idea about food, I don't think anyone but the Guardians needed food like me, Mr. Stark and Dr. Strange." Peter said, somewhat upset at the outlook of things.

  He glance around at the terrain, thinking for a second.

  "What happens if their ashes spread too far apart? Will that change whether we can bring them back or not? Can we bring them back? Is half the universe really dead for good?" Peter rambled, looking down to the little display of Bruce.

  "Ashes?" Dr. Banner rose a brow in confusion. "Peter, slow down. What do you mean ashes?"

  "You didn't see? After the Snap, the other half turned to dust and crumbled apart."

  Bruce looked sick.

  "I think I was in the rock by then. Kid, can you check Neb-whatever's ship to see if there's food and if it's flyable?"

  "Yea, sure." Peter started walking for a second before pausing. "What happens if they all come back exactly where they last were? So everyone that was in a car or plane or boat phased back where that car or plane or boat was. Would they die? Would everyone be trapped here on Titan? What if the ashes are too scattered they can't come back? Should I let go of Mr. Stark?"

  Peter took a giant breath.

  "What if—?"

  "Kid!" Bruce yelled as softly as he could, silencing Peter. "We'll get everyone back. Don't worry. It's all going to be okay. What do you mean let go of Tony?"

  "He crumbled in my hands so... I kind of grabbed a handful of him when he started to fly away when I first broke down."

  "You're... holding his remains?"

  "Yes, Bruce!" Peter snapped, fed up with how slow Bruce was being. He paled and apologized immediately when he realized he'd snapped.

  "It's okay, Pete. You just lost your dad. You're allowed to be upset. Just... go to the ship. Do what you want with the... ashes."

  Peter nodded, looking back to the ship and walking determinedly toward it, clutching his handful of Tony tighter.

  When he got there, he looked around. He didn't find much but there were plenty of empty containers and a storage thing full of food.  Peter grabbed a clean, empty jar and let what he'd gathered from Tony drop into it, sealing it tightly and then holding it in his palm.

  It wasn't much, but it was all he had left of the man.

  "Okay, in the ship, it's not too damaged. Karen, can you scan this thing, please? Maybe pull up how to use it, some stats, and run a diagnostic on damages?" 

  " _Sure thing, Peter_." Karen responded happily, pulling up windows for Peter to read and look at.

  "She's at 23% fuel, but she's rather undamaged and in okay condition. It doesn't seem too hard to fly from the looks of it but I have no idea how to put in coordinates or where Titan is compared to Earth." 

  Bruce nodded thoughtfully at the information.

  "Try getting her started up and airborne and I'll try to help get you home. Maybe Karen and Vern can exchange coords and Karen can give you a path in your mask." 

  "Great idea, Dr. Banner! Karen, guide me through starting the ship up, please?"

" _Of course. I'll highlight what buttons and switches to press, and when, with blue outlines and a countdown. Start with the lever on your right_."

"Got it, thanks Karen." Peter followed her steps and the craft eventually lifted into the air. The boy messed with the controls to get the hang of flying before asking Karen to link with Vern and set up a path for him to follow.

" _Just a quick calibration between me and Veronica, Peter. Then you'll be on your way home_."

Peter smiled, knowing the AI could see him. Eventually, yellow lit up a path in front of him so he could follow it back home.

He briefly thought of the Wizard of Oz and the yellow brick road, smiling as he remembered making a comment to Tony about how it'd be funny if all his 'trail' were yellow so he could follow it like Dorothy did the yellow brick road.

"Pete." Bruce's voice cut though Peter's thoughts, bringing him to the present. There were some weird sounds coming from his comm. "Because you're not using the ship's homing devices but your own through Karen, you'll have to fly the whole time. The ship won't do it automatically for you.

"I also can't stay. The others are getting me out of the rocks... we'll have to clean up and I'll have to leave the suit. But, I'll let F.R.I.D.A.Y. sync up with the Wakandan tech so we can take shifts talking to you. How long do you think it took to get here?" 

"I... don't know? A day? Ish? Maybe two?"

"Think you can stay up long enough to get home?"

"I hope so."

"We'll help you. Don't worry. As soon as we finish things here, we'll help. I promise."

 

_"I'm not gonna let anything happen to you.”_

_"I promise."_

 

"Yea... sure thing, Dr. Banner. Thanks. I'll talk to you soon."

"See you soon, Kid. Good luck." Bruce hung up and Peter lifted his eyes back to his personal yellow brick road.

"There's no place like home." Peter sighed. "I'm gonna bring you home, too, Mr. Stark."

 

_"I promise."_


	2. Journey

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Peter must travel home alone. 
> 
> Featuring Karen, the Greatest Nanny.

**_Day 1: Hour 4_ **

 

_  “This is day one. About... four hours in? Karen?” _

__ “Four hours is an accurate approximation. It has been four hours, twelve minutes and thirty eight seconds since the  _ “Y.B.R. Protocol” _ was activated to direct you home.”

_ “Right, cool. Uh… thanks, Karen.” _

__ “Of course, Peter.”

_ Peter’s fidgety as he steers the ship, anxiously watching as gas levels wither and oxygen diminishes. He takes his mask off.  _

_  “So. This is recording, right?” _

__ “Yes. Would you like to end the recording?”

_ “No, no, no! I just wanted to make sure.” Peter angles his face back to the camera. “As I said, day one, hour four-ish. Hour zero, I took stock of food, oxygen, water, and fuel levels as well as things like damages and missing parts through my AI, Karen. Nebula’s ship, while the best choice for transportation due to minimal damages, is… not exactly stocked for people who need regular amounts of food, much less someone with a metabolism faster than a supersoldier’s. _

_  “Beyond that, there’s barely any fuel. I’m assuming because she grabbed the closest ship and tailed Thanos like everyone else did. I have to go fairly slow, and even then the fuel will be out extremely soon and I’ll just be drifting in, hopefully, the correct direction. _

_  “Food and water, again, are accounted for but they’ll hardly last me. I already feel like I’m starving and I ate a meal bar thingy less than two hours ago. Water is scarce as well, probably cause Nebula was mostly tech based. _

_  “Oxygen… The dial says there’s a few weeks left on this tank and then I have my Iron Spider suit which has a few hours of oxygen as well. Other than that… Let’s just say it’s unlikely I’ll die of starvation or dehydration in the next week or two if I’m careful, but I may suffocate before then.” _

_  Peter, who’s attention has slipped from the camera, traces a spandex clad finger around what appears to be a dial. One that points towards dangerously low oxygen values. He sighs heavily, running a hand over his face. _

_  “Doctor Banner checked in about an hour ago and asked for all the ship’s stats, which I gave. I think I scared him. I must not look too hot.” _

_  And he doesn’t. He smiles wearily at the camera, dark circles painting the lid below his eyes purple. Something seems to be wrong with his ribs and his neck is bruised. Despite it only being four hours in, he looks thin, gaunt, hollow. The most haunting, however, is probably the eyes. The warmth that rested there is faint, like the boy hangs onto a shred of hope, the ship, but doesn’t truly believe that hope will get him anywhere. Not in time. _

_  “I just recently got out of the Iron Spider suit, it’s currently in sentry mode working as my camera. It can probably drive the ship, too..?” _

__ “Another accurate assumption, Peter.”

_ “Thanks Karen. So I can make it drive the ship while I sleep if I need to. I’ll have to wait until after Doctor Banner calls again to do that but, if he sticks to what he says and calls every three hours, I’ll get a ring in just under two. _

_  “I’ll get back to recording again after that.” _

_  Peter slides on the spandex mask, turning the ship slightly and readjusting it to a path only he can see. _

__ “Would you like to stop recording?”

_ Peter pinches the bridge of his nose through red fabric and shakes his head, letting out the smallest of chuckles.  _

_  “Yes, Karen.” _

  
  


**_Day 1: Hour 10_ **

 

_  “—on, Karen?” _

__ “Yes, Peter. The camera function is now on.”

_ “Thanks, Kay.” The camera focuses on Peter as he steps back from the suit recording him. Having double tapped the lenses to get them to orientate, he sighs and looks to his left. Following his line of sight, the camera angles out the front window of the ship. Peter, in the corner of the frame, seems satisfied with the direction they’re heading and turns back to the camera, pulling his Spider-Man mask off and resting his fisted hands on his hips. His weight shifts to one hip.  _

_  “So, long story short, Doctor Banner has called twice since I last recorded. Hour six and hour nine, it’s hour…” _

__ “It has been ten hours, two minutes and forty six seconds since the  _ “Y.B.R. Protocol”  _ was activated to lead you home.”

_ “Thanks Karen. So it’s been ten hours total, an hour since my call with Doctor Banner. I slept between hour seven and hour eight, Wakanda’s clean up is going well, too; they got Doctor Banner out around hour five, my time, and I’ve heard the extraterrestrial bodies that were left behind from… the space children, Karen?” _

__ “The Black Order and their army of Outriders.”

_ “Sweet, yea. Them. The bodies from their attack, as well as the ship wreckage, has been almost entirely cleaned up. The only problem they seem to be having is with the gory bits and the damage to the landscape. And the… dust. No one knows what to do with it.” _

_  Peter’s shoulders sag and his head drops, brown bangs sliding in front of his face and obscuring it from view. There’s a few shaky breaths that rattle his frame as he stands there, hunched over. He sniffles and raises his head, running a hand through his hair to push it out of his face and back where it was. The breath he heaved out as he turned to look out the window a second time is a heavy one, weighty as the burden on his shoulders. _

_  “I had some food and water when I woke up from my nap. I probably should’ve waited but my metabolism really has it out for me. It feels like my stomach’s gonna eat me from the inside out but I can’t waste any more food than necessary.” _

__ “You certainly need to eat more than you are.”

_ “Karen, I’d love to, but this stuff has to last. Especially if this takes longer than we think it will. It could take a day, a week, a month,” Peter’s face crumbles at the thought, “a year. We just don’t know until you can get a good read on Vern’s signal and find out my ETA.” _

__ “I am sorry, Peter.”

_ “It’s not your fault. It’s not anyone’s fault we’re so far away you can’t get a good reading. No one’s fault but mine for getting on that donut spaceship thingy in the first place.” _

_  Peter tosses his hands in the air and laughs humorlessly. _

_  “A donut will be my downfall,” he snicker. “God, but what I wouldn’t give to get one right about now. I’m starving.” _

__ “You are.”

_ “No, no, no. Figuratively, Kay. I meant figuratively.” _

__ “I know what you meant, Peter, but the statement remains true.”

_ “Wait, what?” _

__ “The amount of food and water you are currently consuming is within your starvation range. While it is not going entirely without food, it is not enough to sustain you very long. Your stomach likely feels like it is trying to  _ “eat you from the inside out” _ because it is.”

_ “Oh.” _

 “You seem upset, should I deactivate? Perhaps you would like to end the recording?”

_ “N-no. It’s… it’s okay Karen. I gotta keep giving reports. Just in case…” There’s an aborted hand gesture, moving as if to say ‘you know what’ and ‘worst case scenario’, and he plops down sideways on the captain’s chair. The suit, and with it the camera, move towards him and angle to look more directly at the kid in the seat. He pinches his nose between his fingers and laughs again, shaking his head. _

_  “Damn. If this is how stressed Mister Stark was then I’m not envious.” _

__ “Would you like me to play music for you? Mister Stark has a playlist programmed into all his Artificial Intelligence that is personalized for each member of the team to help calm them. I believe yours may be helpful as a distractor and stress reliever.”

_ “He does?” _

__ “Yes, Peter.”

_ “Wow.” Peter looks a little put off by how thoughtful that was of the man. Guess he was wrong in thinking Tony would ignore him to any extent, he must have read or listened to all of Peter’s messages and rambles. “Play it, Karen.” _

__ “Of course, Peter.” Karen’s machinery whirs softly and the song starts up. 

_ “Sing to me comfort, sing to me home...” _

_  And if Peter’s smile is a little watery, that’s okay.  _

 

**_Day 1: Hour 19_ **

 

**** _ “—out for a while. We’ll have to sleep as it’s getting late here. We need to recoup after our own battle. I’m sorry, Peter.” _

_  “It’s okay, Doctor Banner. We gotta lick our wounds and whatnot.” _

__ “Peter. It is hour nineteen and I have begun your recording.”

_ “You’ve been recording?” _

_  “Ah… yeah? I mean, it’s something to do and a way to keep track of my resources. Oh! Sorry. I can stop if you want me to. I just did it to pass the time—” _

_  “Peter.” _

_  “—and keep myself sane. I’m used to nearly five hours of swinging around New York a day and I got a little restless just sitting here and watching space go by—” _

_  “Kid.” _

_  “—so I figured I could do something relatively productive and make a vlog and record everything in intervals. Sorry, Doctor Banner, Sir. I’ll stop the recording.” Doctor Banner sighed.  _

_  “Pete, I was going to say that’s a pretty good idea before you went off on your tangent there.” Peter flushed.  _

_  “Uh, sorry, Doctor Banner.” _

_  “You apologize I lot.” _

_  “Wonderful observation, Banner.” Another voice came from Bruce’s side of the call, distracting the Doctor. _

_  “Ramonda.” Bruce easily responded.  _

_  “Hi, Miss Ramonda— Your Highness— M-ma’am.” _

_  “None of that now, Spider.” She laughed amicably, clearly trying to sooth him. “We do not need to do such things at the moment. What we do need is information. Anything you know.” _

_  The camera scanned over Peter’s frame. He stood, leaned up against the window in the front of the ship, clearly exhausted. The spider suit had been removed, replaced with more comfortable clothing from the ship itself. Boxers and a much too-large-shirt that hung off him. _

_  “Right, yeah.” Peter swallowed and rested his head on the cool glass. “Anything in particular?” _

_  “What happened on Titan.” _

_  “Oh. Uh… so, I was on a school field trip when my spider sense went off. It’s this cool sort of sixth sense that tells me about danger. In this case, it was warning me about the giant donut shaped spaceship that was coming down on New York. I headed towards it and found Mister Stark and Doctor Banner fighting some of Thanos’ kids. Adopted, probably. They call themselves the Black Order. Y’know the dudes and dudettes that attacked Wakanda with their army of beasts, Outriders. _

_  “Anyway, they were after a wizard dude who called himself Doctor Strange. He had a necklace they wanted, I think it had the time stone in it. Mister Stark told me to go after the wizard guy so he didn’t get taken but I was abducted instead. Despite all the things the Squidward guy sent at me, I was able to keep up well enough to web Doctor Strange and go up in the beam with him. I told Mister Stark and he followed us up in his nano tech suit. _

_  “I was outside the ship as it rose into the atmosphere and it got really hard to breathe and concentrate. The Iron Spider suit was just in time to catch me as I lost my grip. Mister Stark deployed my airbag to try and get me to go home but I latched on to the ship and stayed, sneaking inside. Which reminds me, I don’t have either parachute anymore. _

_  “Nevermind that. Mister Stark and I saved Doctor Strange from the guy holding him prison, the Squidward dude, and shot his captor out into space through a hole. Then we let the ship take us to Titan. Doctor Strange said he’d let me and Stark die for the time stone, said he was its sworn protector. On the way, we met the Guardians of the Galaxy who tried to kill us before realizing we were on the same side: against Thanos. Apparently, Thanos took a girl named Gamora with him to get the soul stone. She’s also adopted by him.  _

_  “Rough landing, considering the steering was made for someone Thanos’ size, and the ship was out of commission. And we didn’t take the Guardians ship with us. Not our best moment.  _

_  “We tried to make a plan of attack but the Guardians were used to winging it. It still almost worked. We were going to try and pull off the infinity gauntlet. I heard Mister Stark and Doctor Strange talking, Strange said something about one out of some really big number, something about realities. _

_  “When Thanos revealed himself, he talked about his plans for the universe, how his world was beautiful before it grew over populated, how he wished someone would have had the same  _ courtesy  _ and  _ will  _ he did to kill half the population so the other half could thrive.  _

_  “We tried to ignore him, fight him. The lady with the antennae— Mantis maybe?— had empathy powers and put Thanos to sleep, barely cognizant, while Mister Stark and I pulled off the gauntlet. We almost had it off when the other Peter, he goes by Starlord, punched Thanos and woke him up. I had the gauntlet off but the big guy grabbed it and slid it back on. He fought us off and flung a few of us away. Doctor Strange sent me through portals to hit Thanos, got in a few hits before he got annoyed. He grabbed me out of the air and smashed me into the ground, then he stepped on me. That made Mister Stark mad and he got more aggressive with the fighting as the rest of us were blown back. He threw a moon at Mister Stark, too. _

_  “I tried to save everyone from the weird gravity, webbing them so they didn’t get hurt, and went back to Mister Stark. By the time I got back, he’d been stabbed and it looked like Thanos would kill him so I ran at him. Yelled for Mister Stark to see if he was okay and kicked Thanos in the face.  Thanos went after me and I kept avoiding him, hitting where I could. He caught me eventually though. I’m not exactly trained so after he figured out my fight or flight patterns it was easy to catch me around the neck and chest.”  _

_  Peter traced the loose shirt, fingering what had to be prominent ribs and a mildly bruised neck. Both almost entirely healed but, at least for the ribs, out of place.  _

_  “Doctor Strange was there, too. He looked hurt. _

_ Despite what he said, he gave the time stone up so I could stay alive. Made a deal with Thanos who quickly left after he got the stone. Everyone met back up. Mister Stark sealed his wound and raised a brow at Doctor Strange. I was confused, too. I thought I was gonna die. And I thought that didn’t matter over the time stone. _

_  “It wasn’t long after that when my spider sense went off again. It was really loud and painful, like a bass drum and a blow horn, both pounding and screaming at me from the back of my neck. Then people started to turn into dust. I thought it was bad at first but it hurt so bad when Mister Stark started to go. It felt like someone stabbed me. I barely had any time before he was crumbling away, too. I grabbed some of his… remains before I could really think about it. _

_  “I think I blanked out for a bit, kind of spaced out in shock. I locked eyes with Strange. He said it was the only way. Then he crumbled, too. I don’t know what he meant but… he said he wouldn’t give the stone up for us but then he gave up the stone so I could stay alive, and he and Mister Stark had talked about one reality out of millions, and then… then he said it was the only way…” _

_  Peter’s brows furrowed in thought. _

_  “I’m not an idiot. I know that means I needed to be alive for this part. I just. I don’t know why.” _

_  Doctor Banner and Ramonda remained silent on the other side of the phone as Peter tried to calm himself. Retelling everything in such detail brought back the memories of each event, events that were still hard to digest. Ramonda spoke up.  _

_  “I am sorry, Little Spider. We will work our hardest to get you home. And we are sorry for the loss of your father and new friends.” _

_  “No no. Mister Stark… he wasn’t— I’m not— we aren’t—“ _

_  “Maybe not by blood, but in every way that matters.” Peter exhaled in a sob, shoving the knuckles of his fist into his mouth to stifle it. “Peter, we’ll get you home.” _

_  “No.” Peter said softly. “My home is gone.” _

_  “Then we will bring it back.” _

 

**_Day 6: Hour 16_ **

 

_  “Sooo…” Peter clasped his hands together, stomach growling loudly in the background. The boy winced as the camera focused on him standing in the middle of the ship. “I’m out of gas. Fuel. The ship is just… drifting now. Food is still okay but the water is getting scarce. Oxygen is still okay but it’s nerve wracking to watch the dial tick down.” _

_  Peter circled said dial with his suited fingers, staring at it warily.  _

_  “Doctor Banner, the remaining avengers on Earth, and the Wakandan’s are working to find a way to me but it could takes weeks. We’re… not sure I have that long.” _

_  Wearing the tight spider suit, Peter’s wrecked ribs and concave stomach are apparent. The lithe muscle that used to stretch over his body, protected by a thin layer of baby fat, is gone, replaced with skeletal looks of sunken eyes, pale skin, and prominent bones. It’s only going to get worse.  _

_  “It’s really hard controlling the need to eat. Especially since I know there’s food like ten feet from me, I’m just not allowed to eat it because it’d be dumb and then I’d be without food. We’ve got a schedule. I’ve got a schedule for when and what to eat. Doctor Banner helped with it. It keeps me on track.” _

_  Peter spaces out briefly, moving to stand and stare out the window at the vastness of space. He hums, turns back to the suit and seems to register that it’s still on, and then takes a deep breath. _

_  “Sorry. It's hard to focus. Um, I met the other Avengers. That was cool. I can’t wait to tell Ned, y’know, if he’s alive.” There’s very little enthusiasm in his voice. “It was mostly the rogue Avengers, Black Widow, Captain America. I don’t think they knew how to react to the news of Tony being dead and me, a seventeen year old, being stranded in space. Understandable, I’m not sure how I feel about it and I’m the one stranded, it’s… weird.” _

_  He busies himself with fidgeting, playing with his own fingers and picking at his nails. Silence pervades for a few minutes before he looks up at the camera. _

_  “I miss him, y’know. Not having him around after two years of seeing him like every other day isn’t something I was expecting to go through. Not yet, anyway. I keep waiting for him to jolt me awake, yell at me to  _ “rise and shine, Spider-Brat, we’ve got lab work to do”  _ and then disappear down the hall to his lab. Knowing that might never happen again is hard.” _

_  He sighs, makes a lazy hand motion to the camera, and turns away to stare into space. The camera clicks off.  _

 

**_Day 14: Hour 22_ **

 

_  It does get worse. Peter’s skin clings to his bones like a wet rag, the circles around his eyes are so dark they look like holes and his stomach is rumbling from the moment the camera opens on his gaunt frame in the captain’s chair. He remains silent, apparently unaware the camera is recording, for several long minutes. At about twenty, his eyes drift to the activated Iron Spider suit. He squints, looks down at the other spider suit he’s wearing, and addresses his AI.  _

_  “Karen, did you activate the other suit?” _

__ “I did. You usually like to record around this time.”

_  “Oh. Right.” He doesn’t move for a long while, still staring down at himself. When he does shift, it’s slow and pained, every limb weighed down. Peter turns to the camera. “So. Oxygen, about a week left. Gas is gone, food’s getting there, so’s water. The Avengers still call, occasionally, but not as frequent as before. I scare them. They don’t want to see me like this. All they see is a starved child.” _

_  Peter pouts, eyes straying from the camera.  _

_  “I’m their unwanted burden at this point. They haven’t found a way to me, I can’t get anymore supplies… The whole situation is just painful for both sides. Doctor Strange said I was important. I can’t see how it’s true.” His arms slide slowly over his stomach as the growls crescendo, a wince tugging the kid’s features. _

_  “Karen?” _

__ “Yes, Peter?”

_ “Why’d Tony have to go?” _

__ “I do not think I quite understand the question. Could rephrase it for me?”

_ “Why’d he have to die?” _

__ “I am sorry, Peter. I do not believe he meant to. It was just a matter of circumstance. As Thanos stated, half of the universe’s population was eradicated, he was part of the that population.”

_ “I know, I know. But… why him? Of all the people in the universe, why him?” _

__ “I do not have the answer to that question.”

_ “Yea, Kare. Me neither.” _

 

**_Day 22: Hour 1_ **

 

_  “Karen. Oxygen?” _

_  Peter stands, legs shaking and arms hanging at his sides, against the controls. The entirety of his body weight is propped up against the steering device. He’s trying his best to direct the ship despite its lack of gas but his current state of health leaves him weak.  _

__ “Countdown to oxygenless atmosphere is less than thirty six hours.”  _ Peter lazily nods his head. _

_  “I feel gross.” He states, sliding off the controls and back into the captain’s chair, curling up in a tight ball in its cushions. He grips the Spider-Man mask tightly. “Recording?” _

__ “In progress.”

 “ _ Good.” His focus drifts. “Right. Food’s gone. Water will be gone in a few hours. Oxygen has thirsty six hours.” _

__ “I believe you mean thirty six hours, Peter. Not thirsty six.”

_ “Mm.” The boy hums in agreement. “Hey Karen?” _

__ “Yes, Peter?”

_ “If I don’t make it, can you find a way to tell May and Ned I love ‘em lots. That they shouldn’t feel too bad and that it was my own decision to go into space. ‘Cause I don’t wanna leave ‘em wondering about me, y’know?” _

__ “No, Peter. I do not know. But I will make sure the message is delivered should your vitals hit zero.”

_ “Thanks, Kay. I ever tell you you’re like a nanny I never had?” _

__ “A nanny?”

_ “Yea, nanny. They take care of you when your parents have stuff to do or have to go away for a while. You’re a good nanny.” _

__ “Thank you, Peter.”

_ “Hey, Karen?” _

__ “Yes, Peter?”

_ “I feel like we’ve said that exact phrase so many times to each other in the last few days…” He pauses, drifting. “Anyway. Can you do me one last favor? I’m real tired but it’s hard to sleep with the stomach pain.” _

__ “What would you like me to do?”

_ “You can control the suit, right?” _

__ “Of course.”

_ “Can you come comfort me? Like Mister Stark used to when I got hurt real bad and had to stay in the Medbay.” _

__ “Whatever you would like, Peter.”

 “Please, Karen. And replay audio of Tony you have.”

_ The Iron Spider suit moves close to the chair, the camera pointed down as though looking at Peter as it stops inches from him. The hand of the suit comes into the view of the camera as it reaches out to Peter’s head, threading its fingers in his hair and pushing it from his face. It coos, Karen’s automated voice barely discernible from a true human’s as the suit takes the Spider-Man mask from his grasp. _

_  Peter’s body relaxes as the suit messes with his hair, soothing him to sleep with recordings of his mentor’s voice. He’s asleep fairly quick but the ministrations persist, along with the recording. Several long minutes pass before light appears outside, growing brighter and brighter by the second. The kid groans in his sleep but doesn’t stir and the suit turns to face the threat. _

_  “I won’t hurt him. You’re Karen, his Artificial Intelligence, yes?” _

__ “I am. Who are you?”

_ “Carol Danvers. I’m here to return Peter to Earth.” _

__ “Okay. Try not to wake him. And hurry.”

_ The woman outside nods and disappears from sight of the camera. The ship quickly begins to move. _

 

**_Day 22: Hour 9_ **

 

__ “Peter. You need to wake up. You have made it back to Earth with the assistance of Miss Danvers.”

_ The boy stirs at the sound of his AI’s voice, groaning as the ship rocks unsteadily. He furrows his brow and looks outside the window to see blinding lights. He clenches his eyes shut and the suit responds by gently sliding his Spider-Man mask over his head.  _

__ “Light Filtering activated.”  _ Karen states, prompting Peter to open his eyes again. This time, he can see the details beyond the brightness of the lights. Like the fact that he’s at the compound and those lights aren’t stars but actual house lights that require electricity and signal Earth. He beams, laughing wetly and smiling up at the suit. _

_  “We made it, Karen.” If the suit could smile, he knows it would. _

__ “You made it.”  _ The suit helps him stand, stiff limbs shakily stretching out and carrying his nonexistent weight towards the hatch in the back. He leans on the Iron Spider suit heavily, knees wobbling as he makes it outside.  _

_  Miss Danvers, at least that’s who he assumes it is because he’s never seen her before, is the first to help him. But she only gets him down the ramp before Happy’s there, scooping him up and carrying him off. May’s there, too, he realizes, bustling behind Happy and fussing over Peter. So is Miss Potts, now Missus Stark. There, that is. She doesn’t fuss over him, just speedwalks beside him. _

_  When he’s situated in the Medbay, hooked to a ton of machines that’ll help him survive, Pepper makes her second appearance. Happy and May never left, but Pepper had to talk with Carol. _

_  “Peter.” _

_  “Hm?” He hums at her, eyes dragging to focus on what Pepper has to say. They’ve dimmed the lights so he can see without his mask, Spider-Man suit stripped from him and replaced with a hospital gown.  _

_  “It’s true. Tony didn’t make it back. He got snapped.” Peter gives a nod, pointing to the ship in the yard. _

_  “I put some of his remains in a jar, if you want it.”  _

_  “I’d like that. Thank you, Peter.” His eyes are sliding closed from exhaustion and Pepper, bless her, holds her facade of calm long enough for Peter to drift off. She breaks, the smile she held crumbles off her face as soon as Peter’s unconscious, turning to the Iron Spider suit in the corner of his room. _

_  “Karen.” _

__ “Yes, Boss?” _ Pepper cringes slightly _ . 

_ “Deactivate the Yellow Brick Road Protocol, monitor Peter’s vitals and send me updates every two hours, remain in sentry mode, and sync up with Friday.” _

__ “Of course. Perhaps you should rest for now. Your vitals have spiked, likely due to stress and adrenaline, and your cycle appears to be late.”

_ Pepper flushes with embarrassment. _

_  “Yes, Karen. You’re correct. It is late. But that’s not something to worry about right now.” _

__ “Oh. I see. You’re expecting.”  _ It’s no question.  _

_  “Yea, Karen. I am. And I wish Tony knew he was going to a father.” Pepper pats the shoulder of the suit, eyes wet as she smiles over to Peter. “But, then, I’m pretty sure he already was…” _

_  Pepper pauses, carefully using her finger to wipe the tears away that spill past her lashes. _

_  “You know, I think I’ll take that nap you suggested, now. End recording.” Pepper moves towards the door, heels clicking softly.  _

 

__ The video cuts. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Until next time, friends.


	3. Counting

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Not that he was counting but Peter knew exactly how long Tony had been gone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for the overwhelming love and support!
> 
> Would you guys like me to drop a Discord link in the notes so you can bug me to write? Let me know in the comments.

 “It’s been twenty three days since Thanos came to earth.” 

 Faces. Doctor Strange’s, Mister Wilson’s, Miss Maximoff’s. They flash on blue, holographic screens for mere seconds before they’re gone, data running through every missing person, stretching beyond the Avengers to normal people. 

 “World governments are in pieces. The parts that are still working are trying to take a census. And it looks like he did…”

 When Mister Stark’s face appears on screen, Peter tucks his face into his hand and curls into himself on the wheelchair. 

 “He did exactly what he said he was going to do. Thanos wiped out fifty percent of all living creatures.”

 And damn, that made Peter want to cry more than anything. He had the gauntlet in his hands, off Thanos. Had he just… had he just been a single step further, maybe they’d all be alive. Ned Leeds, Michelle Jones, Flash Thompson, Abe Brown. Sam Wilson, Wanda Maximoff, Nick Fury. Tony Stark. He would commit every name to memory even if it fried every circuit in his brain because these people…

 They were people. Not statistics. Fifty percent, half of the trillions of people and animals and insects. They were all alive before he failed.

 “Karen,” he mumbled softly, “Get me a list of the people dusted. New Yorkers at the top.”

_ “Of course, Peter.” _

 “Kid, we need your help.” Peter’s head snapped up to look at Steve, black spots dancing in his eyes from the quick movement. “Did he give you any clues, any coordinates, anything?”

 The kid wanted to growl or kick or scream, but all he managed was a laugh. Sickly and humorless.

 “He saw this coming, y’know. Tony. Had this… weird vision, dream thing. During the Ultron ordeal when you were against the Maximoff’s. Wanda must have given him a vision when he went to get Loki’s staff. He told me about it once, when we talked about the Accords. 

 “Said he saw you all dead and he hated that idea, you being gone. So he thought of something to try and prevent that, the armor around the world thing? That was for you, Captain. Because in that vision, you blamed him for the end of the world. Told him  _ you could’ve saved us _ . That he wasn’t doing enough to protect the world. And he thought it was telling the truth.

 “I mean, seriously. How bad do you have to treat a man for him to think he’s not enough?”

 “Kid, I need you to focus.”

 “Yeah? Well he needed you. Past tense. As in, you’re too late now.” Peter stood up with a flourish, ripping out his IV and approaching the former rogue. “You know, you used to be one of my favorite heroes. You were a close second, after Tony, because of your morals. Your  _ nobody left behind  _ motto that helped you rescue your friend and his squad in World War Two. But as soon as you had to take  _ responsibility  _ for your  _ failure _ , you went into hiding.

 “I don’t know if you know this about me but I’ve got a  _ thing _ with  _ responsibility. _ Do you know what I live by?  _ With great power comes great responsibility _ . When you can do the things that I can, but you don’t… and  _ then  _ the bad things happen… they happen because of you. And beyond that, if you use your abilities and people die, that’s on you.”

 Peter pushed a finger into Steve’s chest angrily.

 “The whole  _ point _ of the suits, Ultron, the Sokovia Accords, it was all responsibility. Taking responsibility for your actions, being held accountable for damages and deaths. Yes. We are out there risking our lives to save people. And yes, thousands more would be dead if it weren’t for us. But the key word there is  _ more _ . Meaning people have already died. And we’d be adding to it. We add to it every time we go out there and lose.

 “We’re the Avengers, right? Not Prevengers, A-vengers. After. After the death. After failing, then we step up. But by then, people have died. By then, we’ve failed. This time, it just happens to be  _ half the universe’s _ population instead of a few people here and there that don’t matter to you. Well, listen here  _ Captain America _ ,” Peter spits with righteous venom.

 “Each and every  _ one _ of those people we’ve failed has a family.  _ Had _ a family. A brother, a sister, a husband, daughter, cousin, aunt, friends. Each one of them had a  _ name _ and a  _ life  _ and a  _ home _ . One they never get to see again because of you. Because of us.

 “Tony understood responsibility. He paid for every single bit of damage you all caused. Felt accountable for each and every death  _ you _ caused in your carelessness. Would have felt responsible for any of  _ your _ deaths. He dealt with the press. Tried to fix the accords so that you could still do your jobs. And what did you do in response? You nearly killed him in Siberia. Yeah, I heard about that little tidbit, too. He didn’t want to tell me, but he was having a panic attack and I didn’t know why. A panic attack about you finishing the job.”

 The rest of the Avengers at least seemed startled, if not disturbed. So Steve hadn’t told them. Steve took a sheepish step back. 

 “Peter I—” 

 “And because, what, The Winter Soldier was your friend? Mister Stark knew he was mind controlled. We got that. But people are just a little bit irrational when they find out they’re standing in the same room as their parents’ murderer. And that their most trusted friend  _ knew _ .

 “I mean, I think we’d all be a little irrational if we knew the person who killed our family was less than ten feet away, and someone we trusted with our lives almost daily knew it was them and didn’t tell us.”

 Peter eyes scanned over the shocked faces of the other Avengers, feeling prideful that he put that look on their faces. He turned back to Steve with a hard glare, arms at his sides as his legs trembled under his weight. 

 “So no. I don’t have any clues. I don’t have any coordinates. Thanos didn’t give me squat when it comes to helpful hints. He gave me bruises and cuts and broken bones, but he took  _ everything _ from me. You want clues? Go look for them yourself. I don’t trust you, I don’t like you, I don’t  _ want  _ to help the person who betrayed my mentor anymore than I strictly have to for the sake of the universe.

 “The damn  _ universe.  _ Steve, I’m only eighteen. I was stuck in space nearly a month, forced to fight to save the universe because I stowed away on a ship, and nearly killed by being crushed, starved, dehydrated, or suffocated, and I went through all that to try and save  _ the Universe. U-NI-VERSE _ , Rogers.

 “I’ve barely been back twenty four hours, all of my friends’ faces are on the list of the deceased or missing, I’m still recovering from all the things that could’ve killed me, I’m dealing with my failure to save the universe— my only mission as an Avenger, mind you— and you’re asking me for clues? Seriously? You won’t even give me an hour to mourn? I got back last night, got hooked up to a crap ton of machines, had my bones rebroken and set, barely got any time to visit with my aunt before she had to go back to work and you called this meeting, and you expect to what, interrogate me? Drill me for evidence? Pester me about facts and falsities?”

 “Mister Parker, if you could just… this is for the good of the uni—” 

 “No. This is where you zip it.” Peter said sharply, his hand mimicking the same motions Tony Stark once used when addressing him, stepping into the man’s personal space once more. “I’m a kid. I should not have the weight of the goddamn universe on my shoulders because you failed. You want answers? Miss Ramonda and Doctor Banner know everything I know, you can ask them. 

 “You know what you’re not going to do? Treat me like a soldier you sent out on a mission, force me to give a report on my trauma, and expect me to be A-OK within a day of experiencing it. I lost everyone except my aunt. The universe isn’t my job. I’m the friendly  _ neighborhood  _ Spider-Man.”

 Natasha’s face scrunched at the mention of soldier-like treatment. She stepped forward, pushing Steve back with a hand. He stayed planted. Peter squared his shoulders to Steve. 

 “Peter Parker, if you could simply answer the—”

 “I’m not helping you, Rogers. I’d love to, if I could, but I can’t. I don’t know where Thanos went, I don’t know his plans, and— I’m gonna be really honest here— I don’t really care. I don’t want to talk to you. I want to see Ned. I want to see Michelle. I want to see Abe and Mister Harrington and even Flash. I want to see Tony Stark. I want to be able to hug him. I want to tell him he’s like a dad to me. I want to work in the lab with him. But, most of all, I want to go home. I want to go home and sleep. I want to go home and mourn. I want to go home. It’s the only thing on that list I  _ can  _ do. 

 “You go find Thanos,  _ Sir _ .  _ Avenge _ the universe. See how much good it does to kill him when half of us are already dead.”

 “I’m sorry.” Steve finally stated, taking a few steps back as Nat pushed on his chest. Peter shook. 

 “Of course you’re sorry, now. You failed everyone. We failed everyone. It feels a little different when it’s more than just a few  _ unlucky _ people here and there, huh? Feels worse when it’s the people you love over a stranger, right?”

 “Yes.”

 “It shouldn’t.”

 Peter fell to the floor, adrenaline gone. He heard people calling his name and odd blobs of colors coming close, a mash of voices in his head that made him groan and a mix of too much input for his eyes to read, before deafening silence and darkness.

 

* * *

**Five Years Later**

* * *

 

 

 Five. 

 One thousand, eight hundred and twenty-eight. 

 Forty-four thousand, three hundred and fifty-two.

 Two million, six hundred and sixty-one thousand, one hundred and twenty. 

 One hundred and fifty-nine million, six hundred and sixty-seven thousand, two hundred...

 Two hundred and one...

 Two hundred and two...

 Two hundred and three…

 Peter growled at himself and forced the endless counting to cease, reorganizing his desk and running his hands through his hair.

 “Karen, pull up  _ T.S.I.  _ Uhhh… whichever one I’m on now.”

_ “T.S.I. Three Five Six, Boss. And the file is open. Anything else?” _

__ “Get Friday to reorganize this information based on date and time. That’s what we’re working with. And filter everything I’ve already tried to use into a sub file. Besides that, look at my calendar and contact Missus Stark, I think it’s nearing my visit day.”

_ “Of course.”  _ Not even five minutes later, Pepper had messaged him back about visiting her and Morgan, and Friday declared she’d organized his files. 

 “Great. Good,” Peter spun himself in his chair and tried to relax. It didn’t help. Sighing, Peter slid his chair towards a different set of boards, one full of messy scribbles in shorthand and another with a messily sketched diagram. “Karen? Friday? Either one of you really, I need this all scanned into a hologram like the rest of the info. Try to decipher my horrible shorthand writing. Sorry Ladies. And… speaking of ladies…”

 Peter stood up smoothly, his chair easily finding its way back into its rested position under his desk. He grabbed his phone, quickly pulling up Pepper’s contact and calling her.

 “Peter.”

 “Missus Stark.”

 “Peter, we’ve known each other nearly six years, if you call me Missus or Ma’am one more time I’ll ground you. And I’ll get Nat and May on it, too.”

 “Ugh. I have too many moms. You’re all horribly overprotective, y’know that?”

 “I do, Pete. I really do. Now, how’s S.I.? Keeping up with everything?”

 “Yes, yeah. Everything’s… sheesh Pep, I don’t know how you did it. Being a CEO, much less with Tony as your… quote, unquote  _ boss _ .”

 “He was certainly a handful,” Pepper laughed softly. “And you’re sure you don’t need me to come in?”

 “Pep, I love you, but Morgan needs a mom more than I need a hand at Stark Industries. Swear, I’m fine. Speaking of…?”

 “I swear on all that is holy, if you’re about to ask me  _ what day is it _ or  _ what’s the date _ because you haven’t left your office, I’ll tell May.”

 “Wha— No, I would… I would never! I know what day it is. Yeah. Totally know what day it is. And the date. Pfft.”

 “Peter Benjamin Parker.”

 “So maybe my last statement wasn’t entirely accurate.” There’s a brief silence, then Pepper’s laughing softly.

 “A piece of work, Parker. That’s what you are. You definitely took  _ following in his footsteps  _ to the next level. You’re supposed to come over on Friday the twenty-sixth. It’s currently Thursday the twenty-fifth. That means you’re supposed to come out here and see us tomorrow. Two pm. Sharp. If you’re late, Morgan will murder you.”

 “Little rascal, she really would, too. I’ll be there, Pep. I’ll be there on time with, like, seven coffees in my system so the stinker can’t wear me out.”

 “She’ll wear you out in two seconds flat.”

 “True.”

 “Bye, Peter.”

 “See you soon,  _ Missus Stark.” _ Pepper groaned softly, laughing as she hung up. A smile spread on Peter’s face.

 Oh. Did Peter mention he’d taken over for Pepper as CEO of Stark Industries so she could raise Morgan? No? Whoops.

 Long story short, his last few dreary years of high school were spent training to be CEO, followed quickly by receiving scholarships to just about any school he could dream of for nearly any major he could want, and, soon after that, revealing himself as Spider-Man to the world and accepting the position of CEO of S.I. from Pepper.

 Yes, he was going to college. He spent a lot of his time completing courses online, already nearing the end of his first Doctors of Philosophy, or PhD. He decided to go with Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology, quickly followed my Mechanical Engineering, Software Engineering and Computer Science. Yeah, a lot on his plate but he made his own schedule and stuck to it. He graduated high school with a four point oh and almost immediately become the Chief Executive Officer at a multi-billion dollar company, not to mention coming out to the world as Spider-Man. 

 That was new, too. People knowing who he was. But with May staying with Pepper or the Avengers he didn’t have much to worry about when it came to her safety. And everyone else… well, you get the picture. With Iron Man gone, someone had to fill his shoes. Both with the hero gig, the company, and the world. Not that Peter felt ready to lead the world into a better era after everything that happened with Thanos, but the world needed a symbol of hope. And Peter felt responsible.

 Like, wow. Imagine being twenty-three, a CEO for one of the world's largest companies, a respected and trusted superhero, and the world’s symbol of hope for a better life. Geez, it was a lot.

 But, after mourning for what felt like ages, working and dedicating himself to the things he loved felt right. Felt good. That… and all the resources at Stark Industries opened up hundreds, thousands, of possibilities for his, uh,  _ side project _ . That project labeled under the acronym T.S.I.

 Peter couldn’t decide what it really meant, if he was honest. He’d been stuck between two options. 

 Time Stream Initiative.

 Tony Stark Initiative. 

 Yeah… so the side project, right? No one knew about it but him. He spent every second  _ (eight hundred and seventy-four, seventy-five, seventy-six…) _ looking into different ways to bring the snapped people back. All five of those years, Peter ran through theory after theory on things like time travel, pocket dimensions, alternate realities, and the multiverse.

 But every experiment failed. He couldn’t find anything about the infinity stones or if it was true they could be destroyed. And Thanos was dead, courtesy of the Avengers.

 He needed new data or new… new perspectives. Something. Anything. He’d do the impossible if it meant bringing back those that were lost. If only someone would give him a clue as to  _ how _ .

_ “Boss, Natasha Romanoff, Steve Rogers, Bruce Banner, and Scott Lang are in the lobby. They have requested to meet you. Should I send them up?” _

__ “Scott Lang was dead.” Peter knew every name. Fried his brain each morning to recite as many as he could, obsessively, until he knew them all. He could recite them like digits of pi, long and seemingly never ending. And he knew, for a fact, Scott Lang was scrawled on the memorial for those who vanished in the snap.

_ “My readings suggest otherwise. Scans show his biological makeup is an exact replica of the Scott Lang that vanished five years ago.” _

 “Send them up.”

 

 As the Avengers made their way up, Peter tidied up his lab and shut off all of his programs, plopping down in his desk chair. They didn’t need to see what he was working on, even if it’s probably the exact reason they’re coming up to see him right now.

_ “They have arrived on your floor, on their way to you.” _

__ “Thank you, Karen.” She remained silent as Peter’s visitors entered the lab. Peter, who lounged lazily on his comfy desk chair, a calm, confident air about him, raised a brow. Steve shifted his weight from foot to foot, obviously remembering their last  _ chat _ five years ago. Bruce rolled his eyes and stepped forward.

 “Peter, we need your help.”

 The man didn’t respond right away, scanning over the changes the others had undergone in his absence. Natasha’s hair was long, red from root to ear before transitioning to blond. Bruce seemed to be one with Hulk; Hulk’s large, green body adorned with Bruce Banner’s kind, expressive face. Steve was clean shaven, rather than ruggedly bearded, and he appeared a little stonier in the eyes. Peter had changed himself, filled out since he started training and eating at the compound. Not to mention the confidence boost. And Scott. Scott Lang. Ant-Man. The man who created a flash of hope in Peter’s heart, a burst of fierce determination, a spark of excitement, all in the last ten seconds. And simply because he was alive and here.

 Peter smirked something sharp, glee blazing his nerve endings.

 “Well, what do we have here. Mister Lang, alive and in the flesh. Undusted. How’d you do it?” Peter shot from his chair, focusing on Bruce Banner and Scott Lang.

 “It’s a bit confusing? Even for me, man.”

 “Shoot.”

 “So, uh, long story short?” Peter nodded and Scott continued. “There’s this thing called the Quantum Realm. Really science-y. It’s like a pocket dimension that defies the laws of physics and the space-time continuum. I went in for a mission and my… partners were supposed to pull me out. I think they were snapped and I’ve been in that realm for five years. But for me it only felt like five hours. If even that. I haven’t aged. Felt like I took a nap.”

 “So you’re saying you don’t know anything about the last five years, you were in another realm or plane of existence that nullified time, thus meaning you travelled through time?” Peter clarified, Scott nodded in affirmation. “When did you get back? Time, date. Go.”

 “Oh, uh… a week ago? Around noon. Ish? I told them a day or so after that?”

 “It’s been a  _ week _ ?” Peter snapped, turning to Steve, Nat and Bruce. Steve finally piped up. 

 “We didn’t want to bring you into the equation unless absolutely necessary. We tried to figure out the… Quantum Realm on our own but all we, all Bruce could manage was changing Scott’s physical age, not sending him through time.”

 “Essentially,” Bruce stole the spotlight, “we got time to flow through Scott instead of allowing Scott to flow through time.”

 “Thought process?” Peter quizzed.

 “Uh… We got more caught up in trying to do it than  _ how _ , just blind hope that the machine would work. The idea was to input a time and it would send Scott there but instead he simply aged or deaged physically.”

 “Hm.” Peter spun around and walked straight to the far wall. “Karen, pull up  _ T.S.I.  _ Mark… uhm, two hundred and thirty-three? Should have some stuff on Quantum physics. That… that GPS prototype?”

_ “Of course, Boss. T.S.I. Mark Two Three Three has been opened.” _

__ “GPS prototype? Peter, what have you been doing the last five years?” Steve questioned softly. “I thought you didn’t want to help.”

 Peter didn’t turn to face them. 

 “No. Correction. I didn’t want to help you kill Thanos. I didn’t want to help  _ you.  _ And I certainly didn’t want to be there to watch. I wanted to help the people who died by, hopefully, bringing them back. Only way to do that is,” Peter brought his hand up and snapped, “but the stones were long gone, weren’t they?”

 “Yes. But we didn’t tell you that.”

 “I know. You, apparently, like keeping me in the dark. The stones were gone because Thanos was done with what he planned and he didn’t want anyone to undo his work. And, no one came back when you returned from Thanos’ planet so none of you snapped. I told you it was pointless.”

 “You did.” Steve conceded. 

 “What’s your plan?” Natasha piped up. Peter turned to face them.

 “You need a way to navigate time,” the man gestured at the holographic notes, expanding them and pulling out diagrams and research, “instead of letting time navigate you. What better way to navigate than with a GPS?”

 “And how will you do that?”

 “I don’t know. This is time travel, Bruce. What I’ve researched and heard, the Quantum realm is an endless expanse where time is practically nonexistent, or at least it doesn’t obey any of the laws we’ve tried to bind it with. There’s thing like Quantum vortexes or Quantum entanglement. Entering it fluctuates the time around you and within you. Sooo…” Peter pulled up his prototype and a few scattered notes. “We figure out how that realm works, how it flows, and we find coordinates in Quantum Time, not our stupid linear counting system for years, so that it navigates us to a point in the time stream. And suits with whatever you used to get in there in the first place, Scott. 

 “Hopefully, the realm ignores linear time and, instead, shifts and loops on itself. Meaning you can enter at any point in time and exit at any point in time  _ if _ you can figure out  _ where _ in the Quantum realm equals  _ when _ out here.”

 “Uhm?” Natasha, Scott and Steve looked confused.

 “You guys make that noise a lot. Look, I’ve thought about all the potential kinds of time travel there could possibly be. I’m guessing your tests with Scott got caught up on things like EPR Paradoxes and the Deutsch proposition. Quantum Entanglement bullshit that makes sure time never does what you want it to. They're big flaws in Quantum Theory. To get around those you need whatever particles Scott’s friends manufactured…”

 “Pym Particles.”

 “Thanks Mister Lang. Pym Particles should, don’t quote me on this, account for spectral decomposition in the eigenvalue of a particle field. They bypass the Square-Cube law of physics so you don’t die when you shrink or grow, so they should preserve the physical state of your body as you travel.

 “Travel is the hard part. We see time as a linear device we can calculate, which we can’t. Our calculations are horribly flawed with human error. A man who flies out for five years in a spaceship, turns around, and spends the next five years flying home, will have spent ten years in space, but twenty-nine years will have passed on earth. It has to do with the difference in time between a moving clock and a stationary clock. If your clock is moving, like the spaceship away from earth, time is longer than on earth.” Peter laughed at the confused faces of the other Avengers. 

 “That shouldn’t make sense. It really shouldn’t. Ten years in space should obviously be ten years on earth, the problem comes with distance and calculating light speed. You give a person a light and tell them to move it up and down between two points, you get a consistent calculation between each point. But you put a person in a wheeled chair and push them around while they do that, and the distance between the two points gets bigger so the calculation of light speed is different. The difference is, we see a moving light while they see a stationary light because they’re moving with it, so time for them passes faster. The man sees a moving clock while earth is considered a stationary clock.”

 “I get it, or I know the theory.” 

 “Thanks Doctor Banner.” Peter, rubbing his face tiredly, pointed to a Möbius strip. “The most basic way I can explain this is that time is a knot. A big, continuous, never-ending mess of physics fuckery. We see it as linear the same way we perceive the earth as flat by looking at it, we have a teeny, tiny lens to see out of. In actuality, time is huge. Bigger than our very globe shaped earth and even more of a mess. We can only see one plane of existence. Our own. We made up a numerical system to calculate something beyond our understanding and hoped it would obey our laws like giant dingleberries.

 “But, with Pym Particles, a GPS, and entering the Quantum Realm, we enter the time knot and put in coordinates for a  _ location _ in the knot instead of a numerical value we equate with a date in time, we might just be able to get  _ when _ we need to go.”

 “Uhm…” Scott looked around at the other Avengers, finding solace in the fact that Steve and Natasha appeared just as lost. 

 “I think I got it,” Doctor Banner said, stepping up to Peter’s boards. “Damn, five years waiting for a confirmation on Quantum Realm physics theories. It’s a punch to the gut knowing you were that close and you just needed one more puzzle piece.”

 “I don’t care how long it took to find that piece, we’re lucky he’s here at all.”

 “Wait, I’m the puzzle piece?”

 “Scott, you’re an idiot.”

 “Thanks Natasha.”

 “So, you’re going to help?”

 “Rogers, who else can you go to for advanced tech? Wakanda?”

 “It’s an option, Mister Parker.”

 “Hardly. Don’t get me wrong, they have ingenious people and brilliant innovations in technology and science, but their best and brightest got dusted just like her brother.”

 “Can you get it done? The suits and GPS?”

 “If you can get me Pym Particles.”

 “On it.” Steve nodded sharply, turning briskly to walk out the door like a man on a mission. “Come on, Scott.”

 “Doctor Banner, we’re gonna need to take a look at Scott’s machine and replicate it on a larger scale, can you figure out the components for me?”

 “Sure thing, Pete.” Bruce’s large hand clapped his shoulder, rocking Peter and nearly toppling him. The green man smiled and slid from the lab. 

 “Nat? Gonna need you to snoop through S.H.I.E.L.D. to see what we have on the different infinity stones and where they were seen. Interrogate people if necessary.”

 “You got it, Petey. Don’t forget to meet Pepper and Morgan on Friday.”

 “I won’t. Bye, Паук мама.” He kissed her on the cheek and she tousled his hair.

 “Be good, маленький паук. See you soon.” Natasha slipped from the lab, heading off to her assignment. Peter smiled at her back.

 “Well, Karen. Crunch time.” He said excitedly.

_ “It would appear that way, yes. Do you have a playlist in mind?” _

 “How about one of Tony’s quieter ones.”

_ “Of course, he had this one prepared.” _

 “Sounds like something he’d do.”

 

 Peter made a choked off noise and he was shoved to the ground, grunting and groaning as bony knees and knobby elbows dug into his sides, stomach, and chest. The thing attacking him squirmed, giggled, and popped their head up to scream  _ BOO! _ in a shrill voice.

 “Ahhh!” Peter cries in mock terror, writhing on the ground, pretending to try and buck the child off. When he failed, his fingers attacked the girl’s ticklish sides. She squealed and shrieked, jerking about to free herself. 

 “Morgan, at least let your brother get inside before you attack him.”

 “But  _ mooooommmm _ , I like getting him right when he gets here.”

 “You’ll both get all dirty. There’s plenty of  _ clean _ floors inside for you to wrestle on. Come on, up. Scoot and Skedaddle.” Pepper made a rising gesture with her hands, waving the two up and into the house. “Glad you remembered, Pete.”

 Peter smiled, standing and lifting Morgan easily on to his hip. He kissed Pepper’s cheek as he entered the house. 

 “Me, too. Everything has been hectic the last few days since we called and I could use a day to relax. Did I tell you a few Avengers stopped by with Scott Lang? Or did Nat beat me to it?”

 “Nat beat you. She told me everything. And I do mean everything. The fact that Scott was alive, who came to see you, and how long you’ve been obsessing over getting the snapped people back. You’ve got some explaining to do, Mister. What mark were you on?”

 “Uh… A really high number?” Peter shrugged, trying to play innocent. Pepper groaned and facepalmed.

 “You are seriously a little Tony clone, I can’t.” The woman ruffled his hair affectionately and kissed his forehead, tickling her daughter before stepping back. “What am I going to do with you? You figured out a potential way to get the stones. Seriously, Pete. Time travel. Who knew? I know it took you five years, and that probably seems like forever and a day to you, but that’s so impressive, kiddo. I’m proud, okay? Even if I’m disappointed you told literally no one what you were doing.”

 “Sorry, Pep. You know how I am.” Peter pulled Morgan from his hip and up into the air, tossing her up a few inches and catching her before swinging her between his legs and back up again. She squealed as he repeated the same motions again. “I just… I don’t know, I feel like I’m protecting you guys if you’re out of the loop on Avengers stuff. Not that I think you can’t handle it!” Peter held out one arm towards Pepper, shaking his hand to say  _ no _ , his other bent like he was flexing so he could hold Morgan as she climbed all over him. “You can totally handle this stuff, Missus Stark. I’m just used to keeping dangerous things, like my identity, out of loved ones’ reach so no one can link it back to the people I care about. Y’know?”

 “I know, I know.” She sighed fondly. “Tony was right when he said you gave him gray hairs. Now, enough serious talk, go relax, let Morgan wear you out, take a nap, whatever you want to do. I’ll be around.”

 “Sure thing, Pep.” Peter turned to Morgan. “Come on, Stinkpot, we got some stuff to do.”

 Pepper waved them away and Peter carried Morgan outside to play. Morgan’s favorite game was  _ Super-Hero _ where Peter played a helpless damsel in distress and she played  _ the _ Tony Stark, Iron Man, and came to his rescue. She usually grabbed part of her mother’s suit of armor, the helmet, to play Iron Man. Today was no different. 

 “Hey. Ah ah ah, you’re not supposed to steal Mommy’s suit helmet. You know this.” Peter scolded lightly.

 “She never wears it.”

 “I know, Squirt. And I hope she never has to wear it, but I made it for her to use if she needs not for you to play with.”

 “But Peeettteee,” she whined. “It’s the closest thing I have to Dad. You used his blueprints and made it look kinda like his.” 

 Peter frowned.

 “Y’know, one of these days that guilt trip won’t work. I’ll be immune to that little line.”

 “Well. Still works now sooo…”

 “Brat,” he teased fondly. 

 “Butthead,” she said, sticking out her tongue and sliding the helmet on her head. It was obviously too big. Peter rolled his eyes as he flopped back into the ground. 

 “Help me Iron Man!! I’m a poor damsel in distress and you’re the only one around!!” Peter said shrilly, making Morgan giggle.

 “No silly, the villain has to get here first.”

 “Oh.”

 “You’re bad at this.”

 “What?! Nuh uh, I’m the best. You take that back.” Peter said, sitting up sharply. Morgan shook her head no, lifting the helmet so Peter could see her mischievous smile. “No?! Well then I’ll tickle you until you do!”

 He snatched her up into his arms and tickled her until she squirmed and giggled so loud it hurt his ears. They were both worn out when he relented, laying back in the grass and panting to catch their breath.

 “Pete, What was Dad like?”

 “You sure ask that a lot and I always tell you the same thing. He was an inspiring hero, a wonder—”

 “—ful man, and a strange father. That others should look up to him and see what he tried to do and what he wanted to achieve rather than all his flaws and failures. I know, but what was he like as a dad?”

 “Fiercely protective, understanding, helpful, annoying, in a good way, of course, um… ingenious, funny, charming, confident, responsible… Above all, he was so loving. I know he’d lay eyes on you, his precious little angel, and fall in love with you right there. He’d just know you were his. Then he’d make sure nothing bad ever happened to you and if it did then he’d be there to help you fix it up.”

 “He sounds great.”

 “He was. He is. He will be if this works.”

 “If what works?”

 “Y’know the Avengers visited me the other day and I might’ve figured out time travel. The plan is to go through time to get the stones and snap everyone back. Including Dad.”

 “Really?”

 “Yea, kid. Dad could come back.” Morgan stayed silent for a beat, then...

 “Hey, Pete?”

 “Yeah?”

 “If bringing back Dad means losing you, don’t do it, okay?”

 “What?”

 “Promise that you won’t die trying to get Dad back.” Silence. “Pete?”

 “...Yeah, Kid. I promise.”

 “Thanks Pete.”

 “Welcome Morg. Y’know I love you a ton.” 

 “Yeah, well, I love you more than a ton. Like three thousand. I win.”

 “You win, huh?”

 “Yep.” She popped the p. “I love you three thousand, I win.”

 “You win.” Peter caved, standing up and pulling Morgan to her feet. “Dinner time then bedtime for you, missy.”

 “Awww.”

 “Don’t  _ awww _ me, you need sleep and food.”

 “You’re no fun.”

 “I know. Come on.”

 The two headed inside, the smell of food immediately hitting them. Peter nearly drooled, the scent was so good. They sat down and scarfed down food, Peter especially, who shoveled plateful after plateful of food into his mouth. At the end of dinner, as Pepper took Morgan to bed and Peter cleared the table, the doorbell rang. 

 “Friday?”

 “ _ It appears to be Scott Lang and Steve Rogers at the door, Sir _ .” Peter gave a questioning look to the door as he walked to it, opening it and scanning the two men over. 

 “You want me or Pepper?”

 “You, Peter. May told us you’d be here.” Scott said softly. “You have the GPS figured out, right? Please don’t try to explain how it works.” Peter chuckled, nodding along.

 “Yeah, I have the GPS done. Hopefully it works. You each need one so I made a tone of extras.  I also brought them with me, lucky you. That bag. They’re like watches. Put in your destination, calibrate to set the current time as a Home time to come back to, activate the machine to get to your destination, sync up with the people going with you, and press this to come back. Pym particles go in the empty compartment with a window so you can see your fuel level.”

 “Thanks Pe—”

 “Are you going to help get the stones?” Steve cut in. 

 “I mean, I am right now, aren’t I? If the question you really want to ask is  _ are you going through time with us _ , the answer is I don’t know. I’d have to talk with my family first.”

 Steve nodded slowly, collecting the GPS prototypes as Peter pointed to their bag. Scott looked like he wanted to say more but followed Steve out the door as the man exited. 

 “They were pretty short with you, huh?” Pepper called from behind Peter as he closed the door. She must’ve caught the tail end of the conversation. 

 “Yeah. Steve and I aren’t on the best of terms.”

 “Are you going to go with them?”

 “I don’t know if I should.”

 “Would you be proud of not going? Knowing you had the opportunity to help more and didn’t take it?”

 “No.”

 “I think you know what you need to do, Pete.”

 “Yeah. Yeah, I do.” Pepper kissed his forehead and gave him a hug goodnight. They both went to bed early. Peter was going to have a big day tomorrow.

 

 Early the next morning, Peter woke up and made the trek to the compound. Of course, after calling May and telling her the plan. Stepping through the facility doors with Friday announcing his arrival meant all eyes were on him as soon as he entered. Peter cleared his throat.

 “Hey everyone.”


End file.
